Pardew thankful for Ashley stance

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has praised owner Mike Ashley for resisting the temptation to cash in on one of the club's star names.

The Magpies secured their place in the group stage of the Europa League with a hard-fought 2-1 aggregate victory over Greek side Atromitos on Thursday night, but Pardew will be celebrating even more if he reaches Friday night's 11pm transfer deadline without losing a big name.

He said: "You have to pay a lot of respect to Mike, the owner here, because he could have cashed in on one of our big players. We have had a couple of phone calls during the window and Mike has been pretty adamant that everybody stays. I thank him for that and our fans should thank him too because we are not as affluent as some other clubs."

Newcastle's pursuit of Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, which had always had an air of mischief about it, finally came to an end when the £35million man completed a season-long loan move to West Ham, although Pardew insisted he was not the one which got away.

He said: "No, not really. For us, Andy Carroll was a political move that perhaps wasn't going to fall our way. Liverpool gave us £35million for him, so...

"I wish him all the best at West Ham."

Instead, Pardew, who learned after the final whistle that his side had drawn Manchester United away in the Capital One Cup third round, contented himself with reflecting on his side's 1-0 victory over Dusan Bejavic's men at St James' Park, a result which proved decisive after last week's 1-1 draw in Athens.

Ultimately, Haris Vuckic's first senior goal for the club, a long-range 21st-minute effort, was enough to see the Magpies through to Friday's draw for the group stage in Monaco.

However, victory came at a cost for the Magpies, who lost utility man Ryan Taylor with a potentially serious knee injuries just 11 minutes into the game.

Pardew said: "I fear that the news isn't going to be good on that injury, if I am honest, which is a shame because he is an important player for us. We will have to wait and see."